Cryogenic propellant booster and rocket engine

Abstract

The present invention discloses a cryogenic propellant boosting device for a rocket power system, which includes a tank, a manifold connected to the bottom of the tank, and a heating pipe connected to the manifold; the cryogenic propellant boosting device also includes a turbopump, the turbopump includes a centrifugal wheel, a turbine and a main shaft in the pump, and the turbine, the centrifugal wheel and the generator are coaxially connected through the main shaft. The heating pipe of the present invention heats the propellant to the required temperature, accurately controls the boost pressure of the propellant, and the strong suction force generated by the rotation of the turbopump strongly extracts the propellant from the tank. The driving force provided by the pressure at the top of the tank can reduce the workload of the turbopump to a certain extent, allowing the turbopump to more efficiently complete the extraction and transportation of the propellant; the present invention adopts the method of the turbopump main shaft driving the generator to supply power, avoiding the rocket carrying additional batteries, so that the rocket can allocate the saved weight quota to more effective mission loads.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates particularly to the field of rocket engines. Background Art

[0002] The propellant booster device is mainly used to deliver propellant of a certain flow rate and pressure to the engine pump inlet during the flight of the rocket. During the entire working process of the rocket, the tank pressure can meet the structural stiffness requirements of the propellant tank. For the booster delivery system, a turbopump is used to extract the propellant from the tank, and the propellant pressure is increased by the turbopump and then sent to the thrust chamber for combustion. The main task of the booster delivery system is to ensure the pump inlet pressure and propellant flow requirements of the pump-pressure engine.

[0003] At present, cryogenic propellants (liquid methane, liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen, etc.) are gradually becoming routine applications in rockets. In the prior art of propellant booster devices, a negative pressure is formed at the outlet of the propellant tank through a turbopump, after which the liquid propellant flows out along the delivery pipeline and pre-burns inside the turbopump. This situation requires rockets to carry turbopumps, and the turbopumps have a complex structure, increasing the cost of rocket launches and maintenance costs. Rockets also need to carry additional batteries to support the work of electronic equipment, which increases the weight of the rocket and is not conducive to increasing the effective mission payload of the rocket. Summary of the invention

[0004] In order to overcome the above-mentioned shortcomings, the present invention aims to provide a technical solution that can solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0005] A cryogenic propellant pressurizing device, used in a rocket power system, comprises a tank, a manifold connected to the bottom of the tank, and a heating pipe connected to the manifold;

[0006] A pressure sensor is provided at one end of the heating tube close to the manifold, and the other end of the heating tube extends upward to the top of the inner cavity of the storage tank;

[0007] The end of the heating tube located outside the storage tank is sleeved with a spiral coil for electromagnetic heating, while the end of the heating tube located inside the storage tank is sleeved with a heat-insulating sleeve for heat preservation of the heating tube;

[0008] Preferably, the spiral coil and the pressure sensor are electrically connected to a control circuit;

[0009] Preferably, the cryogenic propellant booster device further comprises a turbo pump, and the outlet of the manifold is connected to the input port of the turbo pump;

[0010] Preferably, the turbine pump comprises a centrifugal wheel and a turbine in the pump, and a main shaft for driving the turbine and the centrifugal wheel, and the main shaft passes through the pump body and extends to the outside of the turbine pump;

[0011] Preferably, a generator electrically connected to the control circuit is sleeved on one end of the main shaft located outside the turbopump, and the generator is used to provide power for the control circuit, the spiral coil and the pressure sensor;

[0012] Preferably, when the turbo pump is pre-combusted inside, the vaporized propellant expands and drives the turbine to rotate, and the turbine operates through the coaxial centrifugal wheel inside the pump and the generator outside the pump.

[0013] A rocket engine, comprising the cryogenic propellant booster device described in any one of the above.

[0014] The heating tube of the present invention heats the propellant to the required temperature, accurately controls the boost pressure of the propellant, and ensures the normal operation of the propellant system;

[0015] The powerful suction force generated by the rotation of the turbo pump of the present invention can forcefully extract the propellant from the tank. The driving force provided by the pressure at the top of the tank can reduce the workload of the turbo pump to a certain extent, allowing the turbo pump to more efficiently complete the extraction and delivery of the propellant. Together, the two ensure the reliable operation of the entire propellant supply system.

[0016] The present invention adopts a method of using a turbo pump main shaft to drive a generator for power supply, thereby avoiding the rocket from carrying additional batteries, so that the rocket can allocate the saved weight quota to more effective mission payloads.

[0017] Additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will be given in part in the following description and in part will be obvious from the following description, or will be learned through practice of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative labor.

[0019] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the storage tank, manifold and heating tube structure of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the turbine pump and generator of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are described clearly and completely below. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of them. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0022] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the terms "center", "up", "down", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inside", "outside", etc. indicate directions or positional relationships based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific direction, be constructed and operated in a specific direction. Therefore, they cannot be understood as limitations on the present invention.

[0023] In addition, in the description of the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", "connected", etc. should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, it can also be the internal communication of two components, it can be a wireless connection, or it can be a wired connection. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0024] In addition, the technical features involved in the different embodiments of the present invention described later can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0025] See also Figure 1 In an embodiment of the present invention, a cryogenic propellant booster device is used in a rocket power system, which includes:

[0026] The storage tank 100 is made of low-cost stainless steel as a container for storing cryogenic propellants, including liquid oxygen, liquid hydrogen, liquid methane, etc.;

[0027] The manifold 200 is located below the storage tank 100 and communicated therewith;

[0028] The heating tube 300 is connected to the manifold 200 and is used to heat the propellant and vaporize it to generate a certain pressure, thereby achieving pressurization of the low-temperature propellant.

[0029] Liquid propellant naturally flows to the manifold 200 under the influence of gravity, and then enters the heating tube 300 from the manifold 200. The heating tube 300 heats the propellant to the required temperature according to different working stages and requirements of the rocket, accurately controls the boost pressure of the propellant, and ensures the normal operation of the propellant system.

[0030] In the embodiment of the present invention, a pressure sensor 310 is provided at one end of the heating tube 300 close to the manifold 200, and the pressure sensor 310 can accurately obtain the pressure conditions at the inlet of the heating tube 300; the heating tube 300 is located at one end outside the storage tank 100 and is sleeved with a spiral coil 320 for electromagnetic heating. The spiral coil 320 generates eddy current heat in the heated tube 300 itself through electromagnetic induction, and the energy is directly transferred to the propellant without the need for an additional heating medium, thereby reducing the loss during the heat transfer process.

[0031] In the embodiment of the present invention, the spiral coil 320 and the pressure sensor 310 are electrically connected to a control circuit (not shown in the drawings). According to the pressure value fed back by the pressure sensor 310, the control circuit (not shown in the drawings) compares the actual pressure value with a preset pressure threshold. If the pressure is lower than the lower threshold, the control circuit (not shown in the drawings) turns on the circuit between the spiral coil 320 and the power supply or increases the electromagnetic heating power by increasing the frequency, accelerates the vaporization of the propellant, and increases the pressure; if the pressure reaches a value higher than the upper threshold, the control circuit (not shown in the drawings) turns off the circuit between the spiral coil 320 and the power supply, and stops the heating of the spiral coil 320, thereby reducing the pressure and stabilizing the pressure within a suitable range.

[0032] In the embodiment of the present invention, the other end of the heating tube 300 extends upward to the top of the inner cavity of the storage tank 100; the heating tube 300 is located inside the storage tank 100 and is sleeved with a heat-insulating sleeve 330 for heat preservation of the heating tube 300 at one end. The vaporized propellant rises in the heating tube 300 and gathers at the top of the storage tank 100, which will increase the pressure at the top and form a certain pressure difference with the outlet 201 of the manifold 200. This pressure difference can provide a driving force for the flow of the propellant, so that the propellant can flow out more smoothly and stably. The heat-insulating sleeve 330 prevents the vaporized propellant from re-condensing into a liquid state when entering one end of the heating tube 300 inside the storage tank 100, ensuring that the propellant is always in a gaseous state or a stable gas-liquid mixed state.

[0033] The cryogenic propellant pressurization device further includes a turbo pump 400 (see Figure 2 ), the outlet 201 of the manifold 200 is connected to the input port 401 of the turbo pump 400. The strong suction force generated by the rotation of the turbo pump 400 extracts the propellant from the tank 100 with force. The driving force provided by the pressure at the top of the tank 100 can reduce the workload of the turbo pump 400 to a certain extent, allowing the turbo pump 400 to more efficiently complete the extraction and delivery of the propellant. The two together ensure the reliable operation of the entire propellant supply system.

[0034] The turbo pump 400 includes a centrifugal wheel 410, a turbine 420, and a main shaft 430 for driving the turbine 420 and the centrifugal wheel 410. The main shaft 430 passes through the pump body and extends to the outside of the turbo pump 400. When the turbo pump 400 is pre-burned, part of the propellant will burn violently and vaporize after proper mixing and ignition, and the gaseous fuel-rich or oxygen-rich propellant will generate a strong expansion force to drive the turbine 420 to rotate.

[0035] The turbine 420, the centrifugal wheel 410 and the generator 500 are coaxially connected through the main shaft 430. The rotational motion of the turbine 420 is synchronously transmitted to the centrifugal wheel 410 and the generator 500. The permanent magnet rotor of the generator 500 rotates, causing the stator to cut the magnetic flux lines, thereby realizing the power generation function.

[0036] The method of using the turbo pump 400 main shaft 430 to drive the generator 500 to supply power avoids the rocket from carrying additional batteries, so that the rocket can allocate the saved weight quota to more effective mission payloads.

[0037] In addition, in the above specific embodiment, the control logic of the cryogenic propellant pressurizing device is:

[0038] Step S1, the turbo pump 400 is pre-ignited to expand a small amount of vaporized propellant to drive the turbine 420 to rotate, and the turbine 420 drives the coaxial centrifugal wheel 410 and the generator 500 to start working;

[0039] Step S2, the generator 500 supplies power to the spiral coil 320 and heats up the heating tube 300, causing the low-temperature propellant in the heating tube 300 to vaporize, rise, and gather at the top of the tank 100, so that the pressure at the top of the tank 100 gradually increases, and the centrifugal wheel 410 simultaneously performs preliminary extraction of the propellant in the tank 100;

[0040] Step S3, when the pressure of the tank 100 increases, the vaporization of the propellant is reduced in time through the monitoring of the pressure sensor 310 and the adjustment or shutdown of the control circuit (not shown in the drawings), so that the pressure drops to a preset stable range;

[0041] Step S4: when the pressure is lower than the preset value, go to step S2;

[0042] Step S5: The pressure in the tank 100 is stabilized within a suitable range. Driven by the stable pressure, the centrifugal wheel 410 continuously and efficiently extracts and pressurizes the propellant from the tank 100, thereby providing a stable propellant supply for the rocket engine.

[0043] The present invention also provides a rocket engine, which includes any one of the cryogenic propellant boosting devices described above.

[0044] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the details of the exemplary embodiments described above and that the present invention can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential features of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered exemplary and non-restrictive in all respects, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the above description, and it is intended that all changes falling within the meaning and scope of the equivalent elements of the claims be included in the present invention.

Claims

1. A cryogenic propellant booster device for a rocket power system, comprising a tank, a manifold connected to the bottom of the tank, and a heating pipe connected to the manifold; characterized in that ： It also includes a turbine pump, wherein the outlet of the manifold is connected to the input port of the turbine pump, and the turbine pump includes a centrifugal wheel and a turbine in the pump, and a main shaft for driving the turbine and the centrifugal wheel, and the main shaft passes through the pump body and extends to the outside of the turbine pump; A generator electrically connected to the control circuit is sleeved on one end of the main shaft located outside the turbopump, and the generator is used to provide power to the control circuit, the spiral coil and the pressure sensor; A pressure sensor is provided at one end of the heating tube close to the manifold, and the other end of the heating tube extends upward to the top of the inner cavity of the storage tank. The spiral coil and the pressure sensor are electrically connected to the control circuit; The end of the heating tube located outside the storage tank is sleeved with a spiral coil for electromagnetic heating, while the end of the heating tube located inside the storage tank is sleeved with a heat-insulating sleeve for heat preservation of the heating tube; When the turbo pump is pre-burned, the vaporized propellant expands and drives the turbine to rotate, and the turbine operates through the coaxial centrifugal wheel inside the pump and the generator outside the pump; Control logic of cryogenic propellant booster: Step S1, the turbo pump is pre-ignited to expand a small amount of vaporized propellant to drive the turbine to rotate, and the turbine drives the coaxial centrifugal wheel and generator to start working; Step S2, the generator supplies power to the spiral coil and heats up the heating tube, causing the low-temperature propellant in the heating tube to vaporize, rise, and gather at the top of the tank, causing the pressure at the top of the tank to gradually increase, and the centrifugal wheel simultaneously performs preliminary extraction of the propellant in the tank; Step S3, when the tank pressure increases, the vaporization of the propellant is reduced in time through the monitoring of the pressure sensor and the adjustment or shutdown of the control circuit, so that the pressure drops to a preset stable range; Step S4: when the pressure is lower than the preset value, go to step S2; Step S5: The pressure in the tank is stabilized within a suitable range. Driven by the stable pressure, the centrifugal wheel continuously and efficiently extracts the propellant from the tank and pressurizes it, thereby providing a stable propellant supply for the rocket engine.

2. A rocket engine, characterized in that: The rocket engine comprises the cryogenic propellant booster device of claim 1.

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